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Every American has some stake in the impending "fiscal cliff," the collection of federal budget cuts and tax hikes that will begin Jan. 1 unless Congress and the administration reach a deal to avoid or, at least, mitigate them.

But Scranton and many other cities are like "Sarge" in the Beetle Bailey comic strip - they have gone over the cliff and are barely hanging on to a protruding branch, hoping for help.

Tuesday, the Doherty administration was in Lackawanna County Court, illustrating the city's perilous financial condition by trying to get judicial permission to dump some of the city's costs on commuters.

Meanwhile, some other mayors from around the state warned that many cities could lose their tenuous grips on that protruding branch if Congress avoids the fiscal cliff by deep cuts to crucial federal funding.

In a conference call Monday, several Pennsylvania mayors said deep cuts to discretionary programs could cripple their governments.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter noted that about a third of all federal domestic discretionary spending goes to state and local governments for public safety, housing, special education and early childhood programs. Options to replace that funding are combinations of local tax increases and reduced services to people who need them.

The mayors also agreed that growth through increased economic development is necessary to help cities deal with their financial problems.

"The fact remains: the only way you are going to turn cities around is through economic development, and if we don't do what the president is asking for and create those new revenues, we're going to be in dire straits," Reading Mayor Vaughn Spencer said.

There never has been any mystery about the federal debt problem. It must be resolved through a combination of cuts and tax increases.

Beyond the math, it's vital for the welfare of the nation - especially cities - that the cuts are carefully crafted.

As Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski put it: "We just can't cut our way back to prosperity. There have to be reasonable cuts accompanied with reasonable revenue enhancements to get our fiscal house back in order."

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